Thread-changing mechanism for knitting-machines.



E. A. HIRNER. THREAD CHANGING Hal:

mnomm'sm r011 KNITTING MACHINES. I APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1908.

3 BHEETSfBHI-JET l.

INVENTOR? 511411.. d. 17/17/7512,

Patented May 27, 1913;

E. A. HIRNER.

THREAD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAY22, 1908.

1 1-, Patented May 27, 1913;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F' TNE s8?" V 'INVENTORI EM/Lfl/i/fiiYE/f,

E. A. HIRNER.

THREAD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 22, 1908.

1,062,91 1 Patented May 27, 1913.

02 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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v n r yarn will be visible upon the back.

'mechan1sm may also be used for plating UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL A. HIRNER, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN'OR TO NOVELTY HOSIERYCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

THREAD-CHANGING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2'7, 1913.

Application filed May 22, 1908. Serial No. 434,297.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EMIL A. HIRNER, ofAllentown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in- Thread-Cl1angingMechanism .for Knitting- Machines, whereof the following is aspecitication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has reference to automatic mechanism applicable to knittingmachines,

whereby at predetermined"intervals the knitthe needles, with provisionwhereby the re-' lation of the yarns to each other as they pass into theknitting operation is such that a predetermined yarn will be visibleupon the face of the resulting fabric while the other The upon plating,that is, where three yarns are simultaneously fed to and knit by' theneedles, and in the resulting fabric two of the yarns are visible uponits face and one upon its back.

My invention comprises the immediate mechanism for effecting the changeof thread.

Although my invention is shown as applied to a circular knitting machineemployed in the knitting of hose, it should be understood that it is notthus limited in application, but may be applied to the changing ofthreads in any sort of a knitting machine. Four thread changing devicesare shown, which may be automatically thrown into and out of act-ionaccording to a 'predetermined pattern, but the number of said devicesmay be changed to suit various re quirenients.

front elevation of the levers.

larged scale, with the uppermost lever and thread eye bars removed. Fig.III, is a Fi IV, is a vertical section on the line IV,'IV, in Fig. I.Fig. V, is a vertical section on line V, V, in Fig. I. Fig. VI, is avertical section on line VI, VI, in Fig. I. Fig. VII. is a vert-icasection on line VII, VII, in Fig. I.

In said figures, the thread changers are mounted over an opening 1, inthe plate 2, which is mounted to be rotated by any suitable means whichare well known. thread changers, in the present instance, are four innumber consisting of the pivoted levers 4, 5, 6, and 7, each having anupturned swinging extremity. The upturned extremity of lever 4, ispierced by two thread-eyes 9, and 10, whereas, levers 5, 6, and 7, arepierced by single eyes 12, 13, and 14, respectively. Said threadchangers are pivotally mounted upon a rod 15, supported between twoparallel bars 16, and 17, which bridge the opening 1, being secured tothe plate 2, by screws' The pivoted ends of the levers are squared so asto insure the more accurate control of their motion as they swingvertically upon the pivot15. It will be observed that when these threadchangers are in their horizontal position their swinging ends carryingthe thread-eyes are positioned as follows: That of lever 4, is in closeproximity to the top of the V-shaped thread groove 18, having at itsbottom an enlarged portion 19, which forms a thread-carrier; that oflever 5, is in close proximity to the top of thread groove 20, having atits bottom the thread carrier 21; and those of levers 6, and 7 are inclose proximity to the top of the thread groove 22, having at its bottomthe thread carrier 23, all formed in a plate 24, mounted in thedepending cylindrical flange 3, on the plate 2.

The bars 16, and 17', carry a depending wire yoke 25, with its endsadjustably secured in them by set screws and having sufficient depth forits cross piece to form a rest which catches the swinging extremities ofthe thread changers, when they are depressed, (as are the threadchangers 4, and 7, in Fig. II). When thread changer 4, is depressed, itsthread eyes 9, and 10, are slightly below the thread carrier 19; whenthe thread -changer 5, is depressed its threadeye 12, is slightly belowthe thread carrier 21; and when the thread changers 6, and 7, aredepressed their thread eyes 13, and 15, are slightly below thethread-carrier 23. Consequently when any thread changer is depressed itlays its thread in the thread carrier with which it cotiperates, andwhen itis raised it removes its thread from this thread-carrier. Theextent to which the thread-changers may be depressed is regulated by theadjustment of the yoke 25, by means of its set screws.

The upper side of each thread changer carries a short upright post 28,set slightly in advance of its pivot and with its top beveled toward thepivot. The function of these posts will be explained in connection withthe description of the operation of the levers which control the threadchangers. The bar 16, carries an upwardly and laterally projecting wirearm 30, held in place by a set screw and pierced by thread apertures 32,and 33. A second upwardly extending and laterally projecting arm 35, issupported by the bar 17, and held in place by a set screw. Said arm 35,is pierced by four thread apertures 37, 38, 39, and 40. A post 41,projects from the upper side of the bar 16. and forms a support for thestop wire 42, and pivot wire 43. The wire 43, forms a pivot for thethread lock 44, which is weighted at its outer end, and the stop wire42, holds-said thread lock in a nearly horizontal position when thethread is passing through itas shown in Fig. IV.

Mounted on the upper side of plate 2, on the opposite side of itscentral opening 11, from the devices above described is the post- 45,having mounted therein a vertically adjustable stem 46. Adjustablymounted upon the stem 40, is the bar 47, forming two laterally extendingarms 48, and 49, each provided with a milled tension screw 50. From thetension spring 51, which encircles the arm 48, extends the take-up 52,terminating in the elongated eye 53, which is approximately over theswinging extremity of the thread changer 5. A horizontal stop-wire 55,is made fast at one end to the bar 17, and prevents the take-up fromdescending too far.

The bobbin carrier has been omitted as it forms no part of my presentinvention and may-for convenience be similar to that shown in my UnitedStates Patent No. 794,407, dated July 11th, 1905.

It will now be convenient to trace the courses of the threads afterleaving their respective bobbins although it will be understood that themachine is capable of being threaded in many differing ways to effectdiffering purposes. The body yarn 00, passes through the thread eye-37,in the arm 35, thence through the thread aperture 9, in the threadchanger 4, and thence through the thread groove 18. The heel tion beingyarn 62, passes through thread eye 33, in arm 30, thence under the stopwire 42, thence through the thread aperture in the thread lock 44, tothe loop 53, of the take-up 52, thence through the eye 12, in the threadchanger 5, and thence through the thread groove 20. The plating yarns(not shown), pass through thread eyes 39, and 40, in the arm 35, thencethrough the eyes 13, and 14, respectively, and thence through threadgroove 22. It will thus be seen that by depressing any thread changerits thread is carried to the corresponding thread carrier at the bottomof a thread groove, where it is fed to the needles. It will be seen byreference to Fig. V, that the thread carriers 19, and 21, are on thesame level, but lower than the thread carrier 23, through which theplating yarns are fed. By thus locating the plating yarn carrier inadvance of the body yarn carrier, the body yarn is fed to the needlesover the plating yarn and is placed under such tension as to assure itsassumption of a predetermined position in the resulting fabric.

The mechanism by which the thread changers are depressed and raised,whereby the threads are thrown into and out of action, will next bedescribed. The upright post 70, which is set in plate 2, in proximity tothe opening 1, has pivoted about it five levers one above the other. Thelower two levers 72, and .82, control the plating yarns and each hasthree arms. The long arm 73, of the lever 72, has a lateral projection74, which is provided with an upwardly projecting stud 75, said leveralso has a cam arm 76, and a short arm 77. The long arm 83, of the lever82, has a lateral projection' 84, having an upwardly projecting stud 85,and said studs 75, and 85, are arranged to engage the edge of thelateral projection 104, on the long arm 103, of the lever 102. The longarm 113, of the lever 112, has a lateral projection 114, provided with adepending stud 115, which is adapted to engage the upwardly projectingstud 105, in the lateral projection 104, of the lever 102. The lever 92,has a long arm 93, similar to long arm 83, but without a lateralprojection. An upright post 120, set in plate 2, serves as a stop forall the levers in one direction; their motion in the oppositedirecopposed by springs 122, one for each lever.

Levers 72, 82, 92, and 102, have short arms 77, 87, 9'7, and 107,respectively, which decrease in length from lever 107, to the bottommostone, so that their extremities correspond successively in position tothe pivoted ends of the four thread changers 4, 5, 6, and 7, each threadchanger thus having the extremity of one of the arms playing directlyover its pivot. In the extremity of each of the arms 87, 97, and 107 isset a depending post 124-, terminating in a shoe 125. The length of thepost is in each case such that its shoe reaches to the top of the squareend of the thread changer to which it corresponds. The position of thelevers is such that their motion within the limits about to be describedcauses the short arm of each one, with its shoe, to slide over the-topof its thread-changer from one side of the pivot 15, to the other,so'that when said short arm is in its outermost position its threadchanger is raised by the pressure of its shoe against the end of thethread changer beyond the pivot, while when the lever is in itsinnermost position its thread changer is depressed by the pressure ofits shoe against the top of the post 28, with the bevel of which it hascome in contact. Levers 82, 92, and 112, have cam arms 86, 96, and 116,respectively similar to cam arm 76, on lever 72. Lever 92, has afinger-hold 106, whereby this lever may be operated by hand. Each of theoperating levers is provided with a spring 122, exerting pressuretending to drive it into position to raise its thread changer. Thelevers are thrown against the tension of this spring to depress theirthread changers and help in such position by trigger plates as will nowbe described.

As plate 2, rotates, movement of the levers pivoted about post 70, iscaused by contact of their cam arms with a vertically movable cam plate126, having a cam edge 127. According as this cam is raised or loweredby suit-able mechanism, as for example such as is shownin my previousLetters Patent No. 7 94,407 granted under date of July 11th, 1905, saidlevers as they are rotated come into ,eontact with cam edge 127, anddepress their thread changers, throwing the corresponding thread intoits thread carrier. In order to control the movements of said levers inconjunction with the cam edge 127, trigger mechanism is provided whichmakes raising of a reviously depressed thread changer depen ent upon thedepression of another thread changer, in such a way as to insure the oldthread remaining in the needles until after the insertion of a newthread. A pair of trigger plates 130, and 131, are pivoted to plate 2,.on the upright post 132. A spring pressed plunger 133, mounted in abearing block 13%, passes through a hole 135, in a plate 136, which, isattached to the trigger plate 131, said plunger 133, pressing againstthe trigger plate 130. A spring pressed plunger 138, also mounted iirthebearing block 131,- presses against plate 136, and the movement of saidtrigger plates is limited by a post 139, mounted in plate 2. Thetripping extremity of each trigger plate is blunt at the end andfurnished with a beveled surface at the side. The plate 136, extendsabove the top of the trigger plate 130, and

is adapted to be engaged by the lon arm 113, of the lever 112, wherebywhen sai long arm is swung outwardly the lower trigger 'wardly todepress the thread-changer 4,

which carries the body yarn 60, into thread carrier 19. If it be desiredto throw in a plating thread, the cam surface 127 is moved to the properlevel to-engage the cam arm of lever 72, or 82, according to whichthread is intended to be used. Sup ose, for example, cam arm 76, beforced inwardly, the long arm 73, will be forced-foutwardly and beretained in its outward position by the blunt end of trigger plate 131.If it be' desired to throw in the plating thread controlled by threadchanger 6', the cam surface 127, is raised to bear against cam arm 86,thereupon, long arm 83, will be forced out wardly along the bevel of thetrigger late 121, and be retained by the blunt end t ere of, and arm 73,will be freed and fly back to its normal position, therebywithdrawingthe plating thread in changer 14, from the thread carrier 23,and substituting the thread carried by changer 6. It now it be desiredto throw in the heel yarn 62, the cam surface 127, is moved to theproper height to engage the cam arm 96, on lever 92, thus swinging itsshort arm 97, inwardly to depress thread changer 5, and swing out longarm 93. hen said long arm 93, is moved outwardly along the bevel surfaceof the trig er plate 130, the long arm 103, is freed r-om the blunt endof said trigger plate and-swings inwardly under the action of itsspring122, and its short arm 107, swings outwardly to raise the thread changer4, thus throwing the body yarn 60, out of action. As the trigger plate130, is forced outwardly, it engages plate 136, to which triggerlate:131, is attached thereby carrying said trigger plate outwardly tofree the long arm 83,

threads and removes any other thread or the ends which may be necessaryto produce the desired knitted fabric.

It is obvious that in addition to the method of threading the knittingmachine which I have specifically described, other arrangements of thethread may be made to accomplish differing sorts of knitting.

The thread end guide and thecutting mechanism whereby the loose end ofeach thread thrown into and out of act-ion is at the proper point outand held ready for further use, may be similar to that shown anddescribed in my said Patent No. 794,407, and need not be hereindescribed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a circular knit-ting machine, a plurality of separate threadcarriers constantly maintained in such relation to each other as to feedtheir threads to the needles in specific relation to each other; aplurality of thread changing levers controlling independent'threads incooperation with one of said thread carriers; means for effecting thealternate cooperation of said levers to feed one or other of saidindependent threads to said thread carrier.

2. In a circular stocking knitting machine, the combination of aplurality of thread changing levers carrying respectively body thread,heel thread and plating threads; a plurality of operating leverscooperating one with each thread changing lever; spring-pressed triggerplates cooperating with the operating levers; and means for so operatingsaid trigger plates and their cooperating members that the levers whichcontrol the plating threads are compelled to Work in alternation, whilethe movement of the operating lever to throw in the heel threadwithdraws all the other threads.

3. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a plurality ofoperating levers; a plurality of thread changers arranged to cooperatewith said levers; means for moving said levers to depress and elevatethe thread carrying ends of said thread changers; and means on certainof said levers for effecting the simultaneous operation of two of saidthread changers.

a. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a plurality ofthread changing levers any one of which when depressed feeds thread tothe needles; a plurality of operating levers each connected with andoperating one of said thread changing levers; a pair of spring-pressedtrigger lates each capable of holding one or more 0 said operatinglevers in position to depress their thread changing mechanism; and meanson one of said operating levers which is in the path of one of saidtrigger plates for cooperating with one of the operating levers in thepath of the other trigger plate whereby when said lever is freed fromits trigger plate, the lever which is being held by said other triggerplate is simultaneously freed; While either of said two levers may belocked or freed from its trigger plate without affecting said lever heldby its trigger plate.

5. In a circular knittin machine, the combination of a plurality OImovable thread changers; a plurality of movable levers for controllingsaid thread changers; a pair of vertically disposed trigger plates forbold ing said levers in the position for depress on of their threadchangers; one of said trlgger plates being movable independently of theother, but also adapted to move therewith; means whereby the motion ofone of the levers which cooperate with the first mentioned trigger platein depressing its thread changer causes the release of the threadchanger controlled by the other of said levers and viceversa, withoutaffecting the other trigger plate, permit-ting only one of the saidlevers to remain in the thread- EMIL A. HIRNER.

\Vitnesses MARCUS S. IIATTENSTEIN, RUTH R. ABBOTT.

